New York State's first civil service law, enacted in 1883 (Chapter 354), provided for a merit system of competitive examinations for the appointment and promotion of State government employees. It established a Civil Service Commission, consisting of three persons appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the senate, to administer the law. In 1884 civil service provisions were extended to some local governments; municipal civil service commissions were established and supervised by the state commission. In 1894 the principle of the merit system was embodied in the new State constitution.
Following the 1925-26 reorganization of State government, the Department of Civil Service was created, and the Civil Service Commission was designated as the head of the department (Laws of 1926, Chapter 354). In 1953 (Chapter 19) the governor was authorized to designate one commissioner as president of the commission and chief administrator of the department. In 1994, the Division of Affirmative Careers, within the Department of Civil Service, was renamed the Division of Diversity Planning Management. This division administers the Reasonable Accommodation Program and the program to hire persons and veterans with disabilities (55-b and 55-c). It also approves and monitors affirmative action plans for state agencies and provides technical assistance and training toward the achievement of diversity in the work force.
The department introduced additional procedural changes in 1996 as a part of the Governor's Civil Service Reform legislation (Laws of 1995, Chapters 314-317) aimed at cutting costs and improving efficiency in the testing process. These changes included reducing and consolidating job titles; testing long-term provisional appointees; and improving promotional testing through scoring procedures; and increased use of information technology.
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The Department of Civil Service is the central personnel agency for New York State government. It provides a wide range of services to State agencies to ensure that they be able to meet their human resources needs in a timely manner. The department determines salaries for State positions, classifies job titles, recruits and tests prospective employees, and certifies eligibility lists. It also develops and analyzes the State's work force plan, administers State employee insurance, provides technical assistance and information service to support the affirmative action efforts of State agencies, administers training, and provides examination and consultant services to local government.
The Civil Service Commission is a bipartisan body comprised of three members who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate. The president of the commission is the executive head of the Department of Civil Service. The commission is responsible for overseeing the merit system of employment mandated by the State constitution. The commission approves rules and regulations of local government civil service commissions and personnel officers. In addition, the commission hears and makes determinations on appeals on a variety of civil service matters, including classification, examination, disqualification, salary, and title.
